Did Netanyahu Try To Instigate War To Disrupt the Election?

A report claiming that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to disrupt the Tuesday Israeli election by instigating a war with Iran is being weaponized by both sides of the political divide. Relying on an unidentified source, N-12 television, which is identified with the anti-Netanyahu camp, reported Sunday that Mr. Netanyahu sought “action that could lead to a flare-up with Iran, at a sensitive and dramatic moment.” The story pitted Mr. Netanyahu against the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, who reportedly opposed the attack on Iran. Top opposition leaders accused Mr. Netanyahu of “treason,” while the Likud camp called the story “baseless.” Mr. Netanyahu dismissed the story as “nonsense.” Asked by The New York Sun about the report, an IDF spokesperson declined to comment.“The reports of disagreements between the political leadership and the IDF regarding Iran are completely baseless and false,” Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X Monday morning. By that time, though, the story became international. CNN reported on Monday that last week President Trump declined to green-light a joint American-Israel strike on Iran. The White House decision, CNN claimed, followed a phone call from General Zamir to the chairman of the American joint chiefs of staff, General Dan Caine, in which the IDF chief expressed opposition to Mr. Netanyahu’s plan. The head of the opposition’s Israel is Our Home party, Avigdor Liberman, wrote a letter to attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, demanding she open an investigation against Mr. Netanyahu on allegations of “treason.” The premier, according to Mr. Liberman, “attempted to use the IDF for fear of losing the election.” In an X posting, the leading opposition leader, Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff, issued a warning to the premier: “Do not dare place your political interests above the state’s security.” Other members of the opposition seized on the story as proof that Mr. Netanyahu puts his own national interests above the country’s.

Did Netanyahu Try To Instigate War To Disrupt the Election?

Did Netanyahu Try To Instigate War To Disrupt the Election?

More from the New York Sun

Bolsonaro Calls for Annulment of Election After Brazilian Court Orders Precincts To Stay Open, Lula Pulls Upset Victory

El-Sayed Primary Challenger Credits Republican Rogers With Courting Detroit’s Black Community

Abstaining From Politics Falls Out of Favor in Hollywood

Republicans Sound Alarms About Collapse in Rural Turnout but Try To Temper Panic in Final Week of Early Voting

Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown Looks Likely To Ride This Year’s Anti-GOP Wave Back to the Senate

Benjamin Button Ages Badly in the Latest Curious Afterlife of Fitzgerald’s Short Story

A Coming of Age Tale a Decade in the Making

Twinsy Names on Alaska Senate Ballot May Cause Voter ‘Confusion,’ Violate Election Law, Blanche Contends

More from the New York Sun

Bolsonaro Calls for Annulment of Election After Brazilian Court Orders Precincts To Stay Open, Lula Pulls Upset Victory

El-Sayed Primary Challenger Credits Republican Rogers With Courting Detroit’s Black Community

Abstaining From Politics Falls Out of Favor in Hollywood

Republicans Sound Alarms About Collapse in Rural Turnout but Try To Temper Panic in Final Week of Early Voting

Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown Looks Likely To Ride This Year’s Anti-GOP Wave Back to the Senate

Benjamin Button Ages Badly in the Latest Curious Afterlife of Fitzgerald’s Short Story

A Coming of Age Tale a Decade in the Making

Twinsy Names on Alaska Senate Ballot May Cause Voter ‘Confusion,’ Violate Election Law, Blanche Contends